Bloodlines

Quinn

I crumpled to the ground, a shadowy figure looming over me.

“Quinn?!” a voice I recognized called out. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

As he stepped into the light, I recognized him. It was my mate.

A wave of relief washed over me.

“Jax!” I cried out, throwing myself into his arms. “I’m so glad it’s you!”

“I woke up and you weren’t there. What happened? Are you okay?”

I hesitated, knowing he’d be upset that I’d gone against his wishes.

His hand brushed gently against my sweat-soaked cheek. I was shaking uncontrollably.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I have…” I managed to whisper. “I went to see Carl…”

His body tensed, his demeanor turning icy.

“You ~what~?”

“I had to see him! So, I took your keys and went—”

“You took my keys?” he cut in, his voice laced with anger.

“Yes—just listen! And when I asked about my father, he showed me what happened… They killed him! He was burned alive!”

Tears started to fall, my emotions overwhelming me.

“So, if you want to yell at me,” I continued, “go ahead. I deserve it.”

But Jaxon didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, shock written all over his face.

After a moment, he opened his arms and pulled me close.

I wrapped my arms around him, pressing myself against his chest. I buried my face into him, my tears flowing freely.

He ran his hands through my hair and kissed my forehead. As my crying subsided, he lifted my chin.

His eyes were filled with nothing but love.

“Quinn, I am so, so sorry for what happened. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. If there’s anything I can do...I’m here.”

It was exactly what I needed to hear. But as he held me, my mind kept replaying what I saw. I couldn’t shake those images.

The pain, the suffering...

I started to pull away from Jaxon’s touch.

Every touch felt like tiny electric shocks—like I was being pricked with pins and needles that sent waves of discomfort through my body. I wanted to escape my own skin. I pulled away and ran my hands over my body, trying to alleviate the sensation.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I just feel itchy all over…”

The feeling was intensifying.

“Well, how about we get you into some new clothes…?”

“No, it’s fine—”

“Or run you a bath…?”

“I don’t need a—”

“We could go for a walk. Some fresh air might do you good—”

“I said I’m fine!” I snapped at him. He looked genuinely hurt. “Look...I’m sorry. I appreciate what you’re doing…”

He started to reach out, but I backed away.

“Don’t! Please, I just need to be alone for a little while.”

I turned from him and hurried down the hallway, not knowing where I was going.

Jaxon

Quinn’s footsteps echoed down the hallway as I watched her leave.

I was at a loss.

I didn’t know what to do.

~Should I go after her?~

I started to follow her but stopped myself.

No, probably not. She needed to be alone.

I began to pace.

I wanted to do something. I felt powerless for not being able to help. Like I wasn’t doing my job as her mate.

~Will anything I do be good enough?~

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so helpless.

But she had also betrayed my trust. That was something I couldn’t forget.

While I could have handled myself better, it didn’t change what she had done.

Stealing keys, going into the dungeon alone... If she was this deceptive over something as trivial as opening a door, what else was she willing to do behind my back?

How far would she be willing to go?

As I roamed the halls, my own demons came rushing back.

Was I a hypocrite for thinking such ill thoughts when I had my own secrets I kept hidden away?

She was slipping away from me.

Quinn

The next morning, I found myself in the library.

I barely got any sleep.

I kept thinking about what Carl last said to me, about my bloodline being weak. What did he mean by that?

Jaxon never came to bed.

I must have hurt him.

I didn’t mean to be so dismissive, especially after what I did.

Was he mad at me?

He had every right to be. The way I went from hot to cold, then cold to hot again… I must have looked like a crazy person.

But I couldn’t deal with that right now.

My mind was consumed by the rogue’s ominous words.

This great hall of books had become a place I frequented. Much like home, the library gave me comfort. Whenever I wasn’t training or spending time with Jax, I came here.

But right now, I was on a mission.

I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, but I’d know when I saw it.

Mildred the librarian, who looked to be 150, approached. She started to speak, but I cut her off.

“I’m fine, thank you,” I said, more harshly than intended.

She turned away, disappointed.

I instantly regretted my response.

I was letting Carl get to me, and I was taking it out on everybody else.

I ran my fingers across rows of books looking for the right one. I felt like I was doing laps around the room.

But then a familiar old dusty book cover in the History section caught my eye. It was the same one used in my mating ceremony!

So, I pulled it off the shelf. It was titled ~The Ones Against Us~.

~Odd…~

I settled into a chair at a nearby table, flipping through the worn, brown pages of the book in front of me.

Maps, timelines, portraits of people from a time long past, and chapters filled with details of ancient life filled the pages. There was even a section dedicated to mythical creatures, including vampires!

I remembered Sky mentioning them once, but I’d thought she was joking.

~Was she?~

As I continued to read, I realized this wasn’t just any history book. It was ~the~ history book…on werewolves!

~Why didn’t they just title it “The Werewolf History Book?”~

I guess that wouldn’t have been as intriguing.

I skimmed the glossary and found a section titled, ~Lineage~.

Turning to it, I found a sketch of a woman with white hair, seemingly floating in the night sky. She looked familiar.

“Selena, the Moon Goddess,” the caption read. Then it clicked.

Just as Sky had told me when I first arrived, the text confirmed that the Moon Goddess was the creator of werewolves, the supreme deity they worshipped. According to the legend, she once lived on earth and fell in love with a human who betrayed her.

Heartbroken, she created a new species she hoped would rise above such pettiness: the werewolves.

The first of her creations were two siblings, Theodore and Isabelle, but they were wild and prone to violence. She hadn’t anticipated how savage her creations could be, so she introduced the concept of soulmates to tame their inner beasts.

Theodore and Isabelle found love with human partners and each had a child. Their descendants were considered almost royal.

The Moon Goddess then created four more wolves, Edward and Sandra, and Mattheius and Gillie. These pairs had many children, their bloodlines flowing through most of the werewolves alive today.

I was confused.

Carl had insisted my bloodline was weak…but whose blood was in my veins? Whose lineage did he consider inferior?

~There’s no way in hell I’m going back down there to find out.~

I jerked my head around when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I thought it might have been my imagination until I heard the sound of a book hitting the floor.

That’s when I noticed someone watching me from behind a bookshelf, their face hidden.

“Hello?” I managed to call out.

The person bolted.

Every instinct in my body told me to stay put, but I had to know who was there. I got up and cautiously began to investigate, but found nothing.

The shelves cast eerie shadows from the chandeliers above. I’d never realized how spooky libraries could be.

Then, another flicker of movement caught my eye. There was something familiar about the figure. Was it the man who had saved me during the attack?

Or…could it be another rogue?

I swallowed hard.

I tried to follow the figure, but they were too quick.

I reached the shelf where I’d last seen the figure, but found nothing.

That’s when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, as if someone was lurking behind me, like a scene from a horror movie.

My heart started to pound.

I was too scared to move.

I knew that any second a hand would reach out and touch me.

Then, I heard footsteps approaching.

They were getting closer and closer—they would reach me any second now. I knew I couldn’t stay frozen like this… I had to do something.

So, I lifted my book high into the air and spun around as fast as I could, but I jumped back when I saw who it was.

The person yelped.

“Sky!” I cried out. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry!” she said, panting. “I called your name, but you didn’t answer.”

~Strange.~

“You weren’t in the ballroom,” she continued. “I didn’t know if you wanted to help me with the decorations.”

I considered it for a moment. Hanging up streamers seemed trivial compared to what I’d been through in the last twenty-four hours, but maybe that was exactly the kind of mindless break I needed.

“Sure, why not?” I responded.

And we were off.

The mystery of the man in the library would have to wait. It couldn’t have been my imagination. I knew I saw someone. But who?

The book had shed some light on a few things, but it left me with more questions than answers.

It didn’t tell me anything about my father and why he might have been killed.

The one person who would know was a sadistic jerk, and I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of tormenting me again.

There was someone else who would know, but there was no way I could ever reach out to them again. Not after everything that had happened…could I?

I stopped in the middle of the hallway, lost in thought.

Sky turned to look at me.

“You coming?” she asked.

“Uh…yeah—actually, you know what, go on without me. I’ll catch up in a sec.”

“Whatever you say.”

And she was gone.

Once she was far enough down the hall, I slipped into a nearby alcove and pulled my phone out of my back pocket.

I scrolled through my contact list until I reached the name of the last person on earth I wanted to talk to.

Mom.